HUGGAN’S ALLEY: JOHH HUGGAN

THE funny thing is that, all those years ago now, the supposedly naive Rory McIlroy was dead right: The Ryder Cup is nothing more than an exhibition. It doesn’t really matter – not not even a little bit – which team wins or loses. The result, at least for the individuals directly involved, has no real historical significance.

In fact, citing a player’s wins, draws and losses at the Ryder Cup in a debate as to his quality or otherwise is actually an admission that “otherwise” is going to be the ultimate verdict. (See Ian Poulter). As Tiger Woods once reminded us, virtually no one can recite the (actually pretty mediocre) record accumulated by Jack Nicklaus when representing the United States in the biennial competition against the rampaging European hordes. But just about everyone knows the Golden Bear won 18 major championships.

And yet so many people care deeply about the Ryder Cup. Especially those born and raised on the western side of the Atlantic Ocean. That is the only logical conclusion one can arrive at after watching the appalling behaviour of so many American spectators during what was once viewed as a friendly match between friends. For those invariably inebriated and perpetually foul-mouthed morons, winning by any means available is everything. But playing the game properly is nothing.

Even if there are those in the US media who don’t want to hear the awful truth about these intellectually-deprived xenophobes, it is a sad fact that they exist. Some of the comments over the years have been unbelievably crass and, at times, downright disgusting. Seve Ballesteros – both dead and alive – has long been a target, as has Justin Rose’s late father, Ken. Sergio Garcia is another perennial victim, as is Poulter. And that’s before we even mention the standard yells of “get in the bunker/water” that seem to follow almost every European shot.

Is that being too hard on Uncle Sam’s niece and nephews? Not a bit of it. The most egregious breaches of Ryder Cup etiquette have all occurred inside the United States, at Kiawah Island in 1991, Brookline in 1999, Medinah in 2012 and Hazeltine in 2016. All four matches were marked by unsavoury incidents that have no place in golf, a sport that holds sportsmanship in the highest regard.

What went on at each of those venues has been well-documented, with the worst experiences occurring at Brookline – where Colin Montgomerie’s elderly father was forced to leave the course, such was the ferocity of the typically scatological abuse reigning down on his son – and last time out at Hazeltine, when matters reached a new low.

There, an incredible number of empty beer cans littering the premises bore testimony to that unsavoury truth. How else can we explain why a member of the gallery bellowed, “Suck a d*** Rory” at McIlroy? Then, in the 45 seconds or so before the security men hauled away the miscreant, the Northern Irishman showed himself up to the challenge. “If you want to back that up, I’m right here,” was his response.

Thankfully, direct physical confrontation has yet to darken the Ryder Cup’s door. It would be best not to get complacent though, even if much of the yelling and squealing in Minnesota was merely adolescent attention-seeking. Not all of it though. The gentleman screaming “go, go, go” as a European ball trickled slowly down a slope away from the hole on the 8th green was easily into his 60s. Such vein-popping exhortations towards an inanimate object are not the actions of a rational person. Or, one must suppose, someone who has played golf for any length of time.

More amusing was the regular appearance of the old line: “If it wasn’t for us (America), you (Europeans) would all be speaking German.” Which is fair enough, except when directed at former US Open and USPGA champion Martin Kaymer, native of Dusseldorf.

All of which is not to say that Old World crowds are perfect. They are not. But any less than exemplary episodes have been relatively minor in nature, mainly because a higher percentage of the spectators are clearly golfers themselves. At least that is how it seems to this veteran of 14 Ryder Cups. Certainly, I have never stared incredulously at European fans as they howl mindlessly at players from the opposing team.

So the odds are in favour of this year’s matches at Le Golf National outside Paris passing off without major incident. Even if the US team emerges victorious. But the same cannot be said for the 2024 Ryder Cup. Six years from now the most anticipated event in golf will be held at Bethpage Black on Long Island. A crowd dominated by “patriotic” New Yorkers is the equivalent of a ticking bomb. You have been warned.